I think it’s fair to say that this casts even more doubt on the legitimacy of Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.
The campaign of Sen. Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., agreed to pay a $50,000 civil penalty after the Federal Election Commission concluded that the campaign repeatedly flouted the law in disbursing cash payments to volunteers during Lieberman’s bruising Democratic primary against businessman Ned Lamont in 2006.
The FEC opened an investigation in late 2006 after Lamont’s campaign lodged a complaint alleging that Lieberman was using a “slush fund” to fuel his campaign in the waning days of the primary. Lamont’s campaign cited more than $387,000 in unexplained expenditures listed only as “petty cash.”
So the next time you hear a Republican complaining about ACORN or something, realize that the actual shenanigans come from ethically corrupt corporate mouthpieces like Joe Lieberman, who at the time was rewarded with fawning traditional media coverage about how “moderate” he is.
Think about it. Joe Lieberman basically has no moral right to serve in the U.S. Senate and it should be Ned Lamont’s seat. But under our system of enforcement, cheaters prosper. Hell, under our system of everything cheaters prosper.
I’d call that downright…uncivil. And everyone in the country gets to pay for this miscarriage of the will of the voters, because you know—you know–Lieberman will continue to do great harm. It’s really not hard to imagine him trying to derail an Obama Supreme Court nominee, because Lieberman is that venal.
Why is being a political prostitute always synonymous with some abstract and non-existent notion of virtuous centrism in this country? It’s a bizarre fairy tale.
Lieberman is the worst of the worst, and the Senate should censure him and strip him of his committee assignments. Yeah, he’ll go over to the Republicans, but he basically already is a Republican, and there is no filibuster-proof group of 60 in reality anyway. The people are sick and tired of their will being subverted by arrogant, corrupt blowhards. The most exclusive club in the world needs to start cleaning up its own house, and a good place to start is with Lieberman.
No, I’m not holding my breath.
(Props to Firedoglake.)
If the voters had wanted lamont, they would have voted for him.
So what makes lieberman so bad? Except for the war, he votes along democrat party lines.
Isn’t the democrat tent big enough for a differing opinion?
Lieberman is but one of many in that parliament of whores. By no means the worst either, consider:
Murtha – King pork
Specter – “what do I have to kiss to keep my seat?”
Visclosky – Knave of Pork
Levin – Moron
Dodd – “what Irish cottage” “what mortgage”
Frank – In bed with Fannie Mae, literally…
Pelosi – “torture, what torture? Oh that torture.” “I stepped in a pile of Pelosi on the sidewalk.”
Lieberman does what he does because he does have a constituency — but they are all in the Likud Party.
Go ahead righties, bash me for being a hater, but you’ll have to put Noam Chomsky and SENATOR Al Franken in the same pigeon-hole.
Another ‘Jon Much Ado about Nothing”.
You should add in all the points in your article rather deliberately picking only those that you agree with:
“Lamont defeated Lieberman in the primary but later lost to him in the general election after Lieberman ran as an independent.”
“The FEC also said it had uncovered “no information and has made no finding” that Sen. Lieberman had “engaged in any wrongdoing in connection with the alleged campaign violations.””
re 2: Republicans are the party of stupid and the party of NO.
We Democratics not only have a big tent, but a big paintbrush, as well. It looks to old Oswald here that you guys are in decline — especially in the West.
@2 Interesting list — why aren’t any of the Republican dick-suckers and child-rapers on it?
Where does a person of modest means get all this money for his legal forays.
I guess the RNC thinks it knows better than Minnesotans who would be the best senator.
@6 Roger Rabid, are you saying dick suckers and child lusters are morally objectionable?
I guess your NAMBLA and queer buddies aren’t going to be allowed to come over for the weekly Bukkake parties anymore.
Business Week, the conservative pro-business newsweekly, has a couple of interesting articles.
One of these articles is about how much taxes corporations pay. The starting point for understanding corporate taxation is that the nominal corporate tax rate of 35% is the maximum that companies pay; and because nearly all corporations get deferrals, write-offs, subsidies, special tax breaks, etc., hardly anyone actually pays it.
Business Week examined the taxes paid by the S&P 500 companies, and found that over a 4-year period 25 of them, including such luminaries as Boeing, Amazon, and Yahoo, paid effective tax rates of less than the 7.65% FICA withholding that all workers pay. (Boeing’s actual tax rate was 3.2%.)
And according to the General Accounting Office, a federal agency, 55% of large U.S. businesses had at least one year between 1998 and 2005 when they paid no taxes at all.
So much for the bullshit argument that corporate dividends are “double taxed.”
Gee Jon, if you had only scrutinized Chris Dodd (Democrat-Conn) now with 6% popularity, Barney Frank (Democrat–F–Mass), Charlie Rangel, Tom Dsaschle, and the rest of the tax cheaters…Obama and the Dems wouldn’t be burning political capital at such a rapid rate.
You KLOWNS still haven’t made the transition to being in charge. You rail against Bush and past history instead of looking ahead with a viable plan and cleaning up the stench in the Democrap Party.
The arrogance will be your undoing. It’s already showing in the polls.
Wake up and grow up.
You know, is we had TERM LIMITS for these entrenched politicians, we wouldn’t be talking about Lieberban right now. Think about it: why not stop the political dynasties before they happen?
A couple of months ago the extremist, right-wing Faux News Rasmussen poll had President Obama at 56% approval. Today he’s at 54% approval. He’s tanking, I tell ya. Sinking! Plummeting! Holy fuck!
The latest non-partisan, accurate and believable Pew poll? 73% approval. Whew!
By all means let’s purge the Democratic party of everyone we don’t like and everyone who doesn’t meet our standards of purity. Then we can be the permanent minority party too.
One guy’s idea of non-partisan is another guy’s idea of partisan.
The other Business Week article of special interest is about “mismatches” in the labor market. BW points out that while 13 million American workers are unemployed, U.S. employers have 3 million jobs they can’t fill.
One reason companies can’t fill positions, BW says, is lack of required skills — as if this is the workers’ fault. Here’s a quote from the article:
“It’s really easy to find people that are 50% of what you are looking for,” says Jim Spohrer, director of university programs at IBM. “It’s really hard to find people that are 90% of what you are looking for. This is a real dilemma.”
Pretty fucking arrogant, if you ask me. Apparently the assumption here is that workers are supposed to divine what skills employers will want in the future, acquire those skills at their own expense, then hope to get a job offer. And then, after a worker has invested thousands or tens of thousands of dollars of his own money in education and training, if the employer still doesn’t hire him because the employer’s needs have changed or the hiring manager doesn’t like the worker’s tie, the workers is just shit out of luck. I say, fuck that! If you don’t work and don’t apply for any jobs, you won’t have this expense and won’t run the risk of rejection for bullshit reasons.
Another problem is that people either can’t relocate because they can’t sell their homes, or don’t want to relocate because they don’t want to uproot their families from communities where they have built their lives and move to someplace where they will be strangers without roots, social networks, friends, or attachments of any kind.
It seems to me that if companies want people to work for them, they should go where the workers are, instead of expecting the workers to come to them. Why is the burden always on the workers? At the very least, if someone wants me to work for them, they should pay my moving expenses, including the cost of selling my current burrow and buying a new burrow in the new community. Why the fuck should I incur the expenses of moving just for the employer’s convenience? I say fuck that, if you want me to move, then you pay for it! I’m not going to reach into my own pocket just to make you happy. No business would make a stupid business decision like that, so why would any business expect me to make a stupid business decision like that?
Another reason why jobs go unfilled is because people don’t want to take drastic pay cuts. The obvious solution to that is pay more, instead of being a fucking cheap labor asshole. These companies don’t give away their products and services for free, so why should they expect workers to give away their labor cheap? Fuck that! If you want me to work for me, then offer me incentives, or take your job and shove it!
Business Week decries unemployment benefits as a disincentive for working. I say their writer has his head up his ass. If IBM really wants to fill those jobs, all they have to do is accept the many eager applicants who have 50% of the needed skills and train them so they have the other 50%. IBM will get a motivated workforce of individuals who are so grateful for the opportunity the company gave them that they’ll work their butts off and be far better employees than the 90-percenters the company is holding out for. Waiting for people to match themselves to your exact requirements is a stupid business decision; if you hire enthusiastic people with enough native intelligence to do the job, and teach them how to do it, you’ll end up with a workforce most executives would kill for.
You will, that is, if you locate your plants and offices in places where people want to live, instead of in East Bumfuck, New Jersey, or some dusty company town in the Oklahoma panhandle where the only grocery store within 75 miles is the company store and the only available entertainment for teenagers is robbing gas stations.
Business Week, like all business people and the media sycophants who suck up to them, has gotten it backwards. The disincentive against working isn’t unemployment benefits, it’s the ridiculous expectations of employers. If nobody shows up at your personnel office to apply for your job opening, maybe something is wrong with the job.
From my point of view, there’s an easy way to avoid the unreasonable demands of employers, the expenses of working, low pay and bad working conditions, and all the other crapola that goes with working for a living: I don’t work! I have no employer hassles, no training or moving expenses, and I can live wherever I want and do whatever I want with my time. Fuck work! I can’t think of any reason to work, and I don’t see why anyone else should work, either.
The fact is, you don’t need your salary. You might think you do, but you don’t! Sure, you’ll probably experience a drop in income if you quit working, but a lot of that will be offset just by the taxes you’ll no longer have to pay. Most people don’t realize how heavily working is penalized by the Republican-written tax code. Wages are the most tax-disfavored form of income there is, by far! When I quit working, I was amazed by how little my disposal income changed, because of the difference in how earned income is taxed compared to the favorable tax treatment given to money you get paid for not working! Frankly, I don’t see why anyone works. Working is a stupid business decision. Under the Republican tax code, getting tax breaks for not working and not producing anything is the only way to go!
Yeah, I realize that if everyone adopted my no-work, low-taxes lifestyle, employers wouldn’t be able to hire anyone. But that’s not my problem. That’s their fucking problem.
@8 Yeah, they’re morally objectionable. And the last I heard, the NAMBLA guys had to get in line at the ACLU office behind Republican perverts applying for free legal representation by liberal lawyers. It appears they like free librul lawyers a lot better than conservative lawyers they have to pay for. Your neo-Nazi pals like the ACLU too, Adolf. It’s the ACLU, not the Heritage Foundation, that pays for protecting the free speech rights of Nazis, Kluxers, teabaggers, and other rightwing scum who want to use the public streets to show the world how obnoxious they are.
@4
It’s a good point. We should remember that this is a work in progress and that “innocent until proven guilty” applies to everyone, even shit-weasels like Lieberman.
@11 “why not stop the political dynasties before they happen”
What rock have you been sleeping under? Do you know why, despite the popularity of term limits, we don’t have term limits? Because the courts declared term limits unconstitutional, that’s why! Which you would know if you’d read a fucking newspaper once in a while. Illiterate fuck.
@14 Bullshit. That’s nothing but logically decrepit rightwing relativism. There is right and wrong. The earth is not flat. Global warming is real. 2 + 2 = 4. Lying doesn’t change reality. You’re a partisan hack. So is Stefan. So am I. So is Faux Noise. So is Rasmussen. We’re all propagandists. The difference between the rightwing hacks and me is that I admit it.
@17
You are right as everyone has an opinion about everything and everybody. The Democrats do need to clean up their party and pork such as Murtha’s $200M airport, the problems with Dodd fudging about ‘Bonuses’, and Pelosi’s limited memory span. Lieberman is an independent Democrat and is basically out of that party even though he votes generally along democratic lines so your opinion of him is interesting.
If I’m a partisan hack, then who am I a partisan hack for, rabbit?
Yes, term limits have been declared unconstitutional by the courts, but that doesn’t mean we can’t amend the Constituion like we did years ago to limit the term of the President to two four-yer terms only.
I stand by what I said, rodent: one person’s non-partisan poll is yet another’s partisan poll. If you don’t like it, stick one finger up your ass and one finger down your throat and rotate, you ignorant motherfucker!
Liebermania on the Left
Liebermannia is as irrational on the left as Clintonmannia is on the right. That sort of behavior is best left to the Radical Republican Remnant and is a major reason they are a remnant.
Accepting Spector and Lieberman makes a hell of a lot more sense than rejecting Webb for his love for guns, Maxine Waters for her motor mounth, Levin for his knee jerk support for GM, Casey because he is right to life, or Barney Frank for his sartorial inelegance or pemnchant to say outrageous things (like me Barney is Frank ).
So here is my question for the Liebermaniacs ..
“When John McCain changes parties, will you oppose him?”
Business Week’s lead article this week is about “change of terms” abuses by credit card companies, cell phone providers, etc.
“Change of terms” refers to a contract under which you agree to subscribe to cell phone service at a state minimum price for at least two years, and the cell phone companies agrees to raise your rates whenever they feel like it, increase fees, add new fees, extend your contract without notifying you, and rip you off in any other ways they can think of.
Even a cursory reading of this article will force you to conclude that business is incapable of policing itself and only government regulation and consumer lawsuits can adequately protect consumers from deceptive and predatory business practices.
Here’s the bottom line:
Republicans: Against regulation, for ripoffs
Democrats: Against ripoffs, for consumer protection laws
@17 “Innocent until proven guilty” only applies to criminal proceedings in courts of law. When someone asks for my vote or support a different burden of persuasion applies.
@20 Take care of your own house and let us worry about ours. Given the GOP’s track record, Republicans are in no position to tell anyone else how to run their affairs.
@6
Because the Republicans take out the trash. Not reelect it.
@21 You’re a hack for the intellectually dishonest and morally bankrupt rabble who call themselves “conservatives.”
Can you list the cases the aclu took in support of republican perverts?
“Innocent until proven guilty” doesn’t apply in tax court: you’re a tax cheat until you prove otherwise in that venue.
@26 Trying to win two Golden Goats in a row?
Roger – we all live in the same house! As I said, the Democrats need to clean up their side a bit more so they are more believable in trying to lead us! i.e. They need to set a more positive example so folks like Rush can’t drag them down.
@21,
No I’m not, rabbit: I have different opinions than you, and they’re not necessarily conservative or liberal. You, on the other hand, have only a liberal bias, and you are truly a self-admitted politcal hack.
You are a narrow-minded bigot.
@28 Larry Craig for starters. If you want more, look them up yourself; I’m not your fucking research assistant.
me @31,
Don’t try to reason with the narrow minded buffoon. He’s a rank political hack and propagandist.
@32 Could’ve fooled me. The only thing I’ve ever seen from you is unremittingly rightwing bullshit. So, you shouldn’t be surprised that I lump you in with all the ret of the wingnut bullshitters who come to this site to troll.
As for your laughable accusation that I’m a “bigot,” exactly who are you saying I’m bigoted against? Not Jews, African-Americans, Hispanics, Muslims, Native Americans, or other ethnic or religious groups; I was supporting civil rights before you were in diapers, son. Not gays or women; I’ve been supporting equal treatment for all long before you were around. And I did so in the South, where opposing bigotry in all its ugly permutations was both difficult and dangerous. You can blow any smoke you want out of your ass; it’s still smoke.
Hey rodent, how’s the lung problem? Hope it hurts like hell and evnetually kills you in slow and very painful fashion.
Eat shit and die you arrogant piece of shit.
Even left leaning time magazine is seeing the lack of transparency behind the “official white house” explanation.
Sometimes, even the most straightforward question can create evasion and denial in Washington’s corridors of power — a question like “Why does Air Force One need publicity photos?” It’s a legitimate question, following the official explanation that Monday’s flight over lower Manhattan by one of the President’s fleet of 747s (shadowed by two fighter planes), which evoked ghosts of 9/11 and spread panic, was simply an ill-conceived photo opportunity.
How long until obama tells the truth and releases the list of donors that were on that free ride on air force one. Why is obama so afraid of transparency all of the sudden.
Thankfully for obama, neither the liberal media or left wing blogs won’t ask the question. Left wing-nuts don’t like to be honest about their politicians and given the chance will avoid saying anything bad about a democrat…
Because this is a partisan blog that takes on Republicans. He would be disgusted by the Democrat and what he did, but he wouldn’t write about it here.
http://horsesass.org/?p=5675#comment-847043
That’s why democrats are the party of do as I say, not as I do hypocrites.
The aclu was not protecting larry, they were protecting the right to have gay sex in public bathrooms.
Are you in favor of gay sex in public bathrooms like the aclu is?
@35,
Fuck you, asshole.
You’re such a chicnkeshit that you won’t list anything on Stefan’s blog from your home computer because you’re afraid Stefan will get your IP address.
As for things I’ve said that are right wing, let’s see. Does that include my support of reform of the marijuana laws? Or my wish for the US to shut down the ridiculous foreign campaigns? Or my neutrality in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Do you know that I often get accused of being a Democrat over at Stefan’s blog?
So much for your “unremittingly rightwing bullshit.”
@31 “Roger – we all live in the same house!”
Bullshit. What’s more, I have no interest in “leading” your ilk, or negotiating with your ilk, or having anything to do with your ilk. I don’t need you. I don’t want you. Just go away.
“I was supporting civil rights before you were in diapers, son.”
No you haven’t. I’m as old as you are, fuckface.
@20
I’m a working-class big P progressive and have a low opinion of most of the entrenched power structure in D.C.
@41 Like I said, I was supporting civil rights when you were in diapers, and that applies regardless of what your physical age may be, because you’re still in diapers, shithead.
ACLU Statement In Support Of Senator Larry Craig’s Efforts To Withdraw His Guilty Plea (1/16/2008)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@aclu.org; (212) 549-2666
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union supports Senator Larry Craig’s attempt to have his guilty plea withdrawn because the Minnesota law under which he was arrested is unconstitutionally broad. The statute punishes “offensive, obscene or abusive language” which tends to arouse “alarm, anger or resentment” in others. Clearly, this law has the potential to ensnare and criminalize legal, constitutionally protected free speech, including solicitation for private sex.
The Minnesota Supreme Court and other courts have found that a closed bathroom stall is a private location. The police have no business spying on people in places where there is an expectation of privacy. The ACLU is in no way advocating sex in public bathrooms. If law enforcement is genuinely interested in stopping sex in public bathrooms rather than ensnaring people in sting operations, posting a sign prohibiting it and announcing police patrols would be much more effective and would meet constitutional requirements.
Posted for Marvin’s benefit in case he ever gets caught up in an unconstitutional goatfucking sting operation. The ACLU will be there for you, Marvin.
@42 I don’t trust politicians. That said, I distrust Democrats far, far less, lightyears less, than I do the Bloated Bloviator-led extremist Republican party. Most important, I’d be a Democrat if only to stay off Roger’s shit list. He can rip new assholes like no rabbit I’ve ever known.
@45
Exactly.
Rasmussen. Mr. Klynical and his goatfucking doppleganger like Rasmussen.
Hmm, what this? Rasmussen reports that 69% of Republicans think Republicans suck!
http://www.rasmussenreports.co.....party_base
My goodness! Only 21% of Republicans think Republicans don’t suck. 10% of the Republicans polled can’t decide whether Republicans suck or not.
Hint to the undecided 10 percenters – Republicans suck!
Cannibalistic Republicans eat there own! Who will survive??
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Several members of the Republican National Committee are miffed at Newt Gingrich for claiming that they’re a small bunch of egomaniacs who need to be coddled by the party chairman.
“Newt needs to take a breath,” New Jersey committeeman David Norcross told CNN.
@38 As always, you don’t know what you’re talking about, you ignorant fuck. The ACLU is defending free speech, not having sex in public, dumbasss!
“It is a crime to have sex in public. It is not a crime to propose or solicit sex in public, whether it’s in a bar or in a bathroom,” Romero said.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3611682
@40
Roger – We are all of the same ilk and therefore cannot go away. Please enjoy being irked and jerked as part of the American family.
As I mentioned previously, if the Democrats clean up their act some and quit getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar then being irked will lessen but won’t ever stop. However, at that point, discussions would center on problem resolutions rather than eating cookies.
Hmmm…Gee – we could call that Politics!
@50 “We are all of the same ilk”
Bullshit. You don’t have long ears. You don’t have a cottontail. You have only small patches of fur; most of your carcass is butt-naked! You don’t have a crinkly black nose. Only a blind rabbit would try to hump you.
Does anyone want to talk about the failure of the “green cab” experiment?
The suit objected to the county’s opaque process of awarding new licenses to Green Cab without holding any lottery or Request for Proposal, and many of the aggrieved parties suggested that campaign donations to Sims by Green Cab members had something to do with it.
…
Now Green Cab is hoping to change the rules. In his e-mail to Sims, Green Cab’s Adugna asked the Executive to temporarily waive the employer-employee requirement, giving the company a chance to persuade potential drivers of the benefits of the new system.
Don’t the left wingers in seattle want to be green. Come on, use the green cabs, put your money where your mouth is.
No doubt if ron sims would ever release the records we would see that STITA is making contributions to ron sims in return for an exclusive contract/.
@39 Oh yeah, you’re the voice of political moderation on Snarky Politics, see e.g.,
“1. Well, you won’t have to worry about Sims having any influence of King County elections while he’s in Washington, DC. Look on the bright side. Posted by Politically Incorrect at April 28, 2009 01:45 PM”
http://blog.usefulwork.com/cgi.....y_id=12896
@39 (continued) Keeping my IP secret seems like a reasonable precaution given wingers’ proclivity for antics like reporting Goldy to the police as a child molester, making death threats, etc.
I see that “Crusader,” along with the rest of Stefan’s snarky crowd, is decrying the National Popular Vote (NPV) initiative as “unconstitutional” and “undemocratic.”
Yeah, you would expect that bunch to defend a system that was designed to preserve slavery by giving states like Mississippi and Alaska an outsized say in choosing the president. The notion that a Californian’s vote should carry the same weight as a North Dakotan’s vote is “undemocratic” to these guys.
I didn’t see “politically incorrect” weigh in on the NPV … what’s your position on that, PI?
All the ‘trolls’ should quit discouraging the writer of this post. After all, it is rare that liberals in fact rather than name crusade against corruption. For an example, look at Obama’s laughable lack of vetting of any of his appointees, or Pelosi’s idiotic hypocrisy about a woman cleaning house. Granted,the post talks about allegations and fines and no real facts, but it’s a start.
Now, Jon, start talking about all the other corrupt politicians, regardless of party affilitation or advantage. I would bet you’d find most of them with a D after the name, but you’ll find a fair number of Republicans on the list too. If corrupt they should be removed from government office.
However, with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid in leadership that won’t happen. They would likely be the first to have to seek honest employment.
@51 Roger
“Bullshit. You don’t have long ears. You don’t have a cottontail. You have only small patches of fur; most of your carcass is butt-naked! You don’t have a crinkly black nose. Only a blind rabbit would try to hump you.”
So you are not an American and only a small rabbit. The value of your opinions suddenly diminished to absolutely nothing as you can not vote, you can not pay taxes, and your opinions as a rabbit have absolutely nothing to do with reality!!!
So why are you posting as a small rabbit instead as a retired lawyer with a significant amount of valid detail to add to the discussions.
Jon can’t take on corrupt democrats on this blog. It’s not blog policy.
Like lee said, the democrats on this board won’t write about it.
@51
“Bullshit. You don’t have long ears.”
Roger – Please come back to reality!!
36. Politically Incorrect spews:
Hey rodent, how’s the lung problem? Hope it hurts like hell and evnetually kills you in slow and very painful fashion.
Eat shit and die you arrogant piece of shit.
What else need to be said about PI and his relevance here? Does this sound like somebody you
(A) Listen to?
(B) want for a fellow member of the species?
How do you feel about the hate from the left wing-nuts on this blog towards republicans?
I can’t wait until we have 60 seats in the Senate. They we can make sure that the publicans sit down and shut the fuck up. America rejected them and they’re so ashamed only 20% of them will even admit to being right wingers. Fucking failures all – and I love it!